For the past several years, I have been conducting a survey of surviving Winchester Model 53 lever guns, as part of a Winchester Arms Collectors Association (WACA) group doing research on the various vintage Winchester Models. Thus far, I have 673 Model 53's in my database but only two of them were original located here in Canada! Obviously, most of them are in the USA, but I've located 59 Model 53's in Australia of all places! I've also published an article on the Model 53 in the Fall edition of the 2015 WACA journal.
According to Madis, there were only 15,118 Model 53's ever produced, but my survey seems to indicate that the number may be lower, somewhere around 14,500. Regardless, they are pretty rare, but I would have expected to find more than just two Model 53's here in Canada (actually there are now four, but the other two I imported from the USA into Canada).
Question: Do you have a Model 53 Winchester? If so, I would be grateful if you would PM me with the full serial number, caliber, whether it is a takedown or solid frame, if there are dashes or no dashes on the upper tang stamp and, if you are feeling extra curious, the two-digit date stamp under the barrel near the receiver (you'll need to remove the forestock for that one). Any other features, such as shape of buttplate, special sights, checkering, pistol grip, fancy wood, would also be important for me to records.
According to Madis, there were only 15,118 Model 53's ever produced, but my survey seems to indicate that the number may be lower, somewhere around 14,500. Regardless, they are pretty rare, but I would have expected to find more than just two Model 53's here in Canada (actually there are now four, but the other two I imported from the USA into Canada).
Question: Do you have a Model 53 Winchester? If so, I would be grateful if you would PM me with the full serial number, caliber, whether it is a takedown or solid frame, if there are dashes or no dashes on the upper tang stamp and, if you are feeling extra curious, the two-digit date stamp under the barrel near the receiver (you'll need to remove the forestock for that one). Any other features, such as shape of buttplate, special sights, checkering, pistol grip, fancy wood, would also be important for me to records.
